Chaw of Tobacco
by Countrylover99
Summary: When a handsome stranger offends the local town girls with his offer, the women decide to share their embarrassing story with their friends.
**When beautiful young town girls are offended by some oaf's dull offer, the women decide to share their embarrassing story with their friends.**

* * *

 _There's 10 men for every woman out here._

Indeed, the men of Oregon's little town were quite desperate to get themselves a wife. Considering the fact that the place was still unsettled, and the people had no right to stay single.

The town itself was quite small and peaceful. Everyone was friendly with each other and tried hard to help their neighbors, especially the newcomers, who were adjusting to live in the Wild West.

Many farmers with their families had moved to the Oregon Territory to cultivate the lands and be free.

There were many young gentlemen from East as well. They had all gathered around to settle a new country. Mostly, the men moved to the West together with their wives and children. But there were also many unmarried young man, who were eager to find a woman to marry. Unfortunately, unwed females were very few in this town. Young ladies from East weren't willing to live in the unsettled place, so finding a wife was a hard thing for men.

There were couple of young women in town, who were not married, and that's why they were very sought-after lasses. Some of them were already spoken for, or engaged. So, you could imagine the anguish of those poor town boys who were looking for wives.

Just before yesterday, they had all lamented the fact that the most adored and loved young woman, who was not only beautiful, but was also an excellent cook, married a filthy backwoodsman. Yes, the town men disliked them Pontipee brothers. 7 brothers didn't have manners and the oldest of them named Adam, was a boastful man, who loved to show off. They still couldn't believe how Adam Pontipee managed to woo Milly. The young men tried hard to impress her many times, but she never took notice of them. And now, some backwoodsman who lived miles away from town married the beautiful blonde, just like that. Unbelievable! Let's just say that the male folk weren't fans of them Pontipees. Women, however, even though a little afraid, were intrigued with the brothers and were always quite eager to see them close up. But because of their terrible manners, Pontipee brothers almost never visited the town. Only, Adam was sometimes seen trading in the town square.

So, one beautiful summer morning, three friends: Esther, Susan, and Abigail were strolling in the streets of Oregon's little town. Women were quite busy chattering amongst themselves. Both Esther and Abigail were considering to marry young gentlemen who had come to win their hearts. They talked and chatted for half an hour, deciding what to do. Susan was also spoken for and she had the most arrogant attitude from the three, maybe because she thought that she was the prettiest girl in town.

The three girls were passing by the Bixby store when they saw handsome strangers gazing at them. The young men were dressed in farmer's clothes, they had red fiery hair, and set in the nearby wagon. _Red hair like that? This must be the Pontipee brothers._

Suddenly, one of them jumped from the wagon and stood in front of the pretty girls. The young man was handsome and the women smiled at him politely.

Abigail started to blush when she noticed that the Pontipee brother was staring at her.

"Uhh...care for a chaw of tobacco?" Young man asked

 _What? Was he crazy?! Did this man just offer well-behaved maidens "a chaw of tobacco"?_

Abigail looked startled and embarrassed at Esther, who was quite shocked herself.

"Well, I never!" Abigail exclaimed feeling insulted. This was the first time a young gentlemen was so rude to them. _How could he?_

Harry, James and Jackson stood by the Bixby Store's window. When they saw Pontipee brothers talking to the girls, and how shocked the women looked, they decided to cut in.

"Hey, what's the fuss around here?" Harry asked sounding irritated

Susan noticed that the handsome Pontipee brother was confused and meant no harm. However, being a head strong woman, she decided to put him in his place. _No one dares to insult a lady like this!_

"That oaf insulted us!" She exclaimed.

"No such thing!" Another Pontipee cut in to help his brother out. "All he did was offer them a chaw... of " the Pontipee paused for a minute and then continued, "Well, it's a dang good tobacco."

"It is, huh?" Harry asked unimpressed. By now, the women noticed that the town boys disliked them Pontipee brothers and that they weren't planning to leave without a fight.

The girls didn't have time to realize what was happening, when all of a sudden the brother who stood up for the first 'oaf' attacked the town boys and a big brawl began.

The three women stepped aside looking terrified and shocked. Inside they were all shaking their heads at their behaviour. _These Pontipee brothers are brutes and animals!_ Each one of them thought.

Abigail closed her eyes in horror, while Esther gasped when she saw the Pontipee brother knock Jackson right into the mercantile window.

A few seconds later, Milly came barrelling out the door, calling the others to stop the fight. However the other brothers made no move. Susan glanced at the brother who was responsible for the fight in the first place, he had an amused look on his face and watched his (who looked like) older brother, with a huge grin on his face.

Milly grabbed the fighter by his shirt and yelled for him to stop. Three punches later the town boys were out cold, draped over the railing like pieces of cloth.

Horrified Abigail whispered to the girls to quickly leave the place. When the brothers finally got into the wagon, Milly apologized to the store owners and she set off. Esther and Susan agreed with their friend and quietly walked away, wanting nothing to do with them Pontipees ever again.

Susan couldn't help but look at the brothers yet again with a disgust. She stared at the fighter and the oaf that had offended her. When she noticed that the boys were also looking at them, she quickly lowered her eyes and shook her head. _What an encounter! Poor Milly! What a fool. Who marries into such disgraceful family?!_

* * *

It was a dull evening for a beautiful brunette, when she realized that half of her real friends weren't planning to attend their long awaited Quilting Bee. Liza May was a particular person, she was sarcastic, down to earth, and very friendly. She couldn't stand fake women that were around her all the time. Same mindless chatter and dull conversations made her feel crazy. Liza always knew how to make boring conversations fun and exciting. This evening, however, she felt a little lonely. She was still very young, when her parents moved to the Wild West. Her real friends were Milly, Dorcas, Ruth, Martha, Sarah, and Reverend's daughter Alice. They were like sisters to her. She always felt free and comfortable with them. But when Milly, who was like a big sister to them married that backwoodsman, the girls found themselves very lonely. Milly was their voice of reason, even though she was always busy. Milly was the one who introduced the women to each other in the first place. And after that, six young girls were practically inseparable. Liza tried hard to sound happy and fun as she chatted with snobby Mrs. Munroe and Mrs. Spencer, it was very hard to impress them, but nevertheless Liza managed it. She looked over her shoulder as the door opened and Susan together with Mrs Johnson and Abigail came in, carrying few materials that they would need for Quilting Bee.

Before the bee would begin, the women set down for tea and cupcakes.

"Where are the other girls? Where's Ruth? Wasn't she the one who wanted this in the first place?" Mrs. Johnson asked bit stunned, when she noticed that most of the women were missing.

Liza wanted to make a reply, but she was cut by her mother. "Oh, she had to stay with her dear uncle. Poor man wasn't feeling well today." Mrs. May answered and scolded her pretty daughter, who wasn't sitting properly.

"Mr. Jebson is a wonderful man. I hope nothing serious is wrong with him." Mrs. Johnson made a reply and continued sipping her tea.

"Amen." Mrs. Spencer threw in immediately.

Liza already felt bored. She had nothing in common with these elderly women, even her mother tried hard to listen to them.

"Did you notice how Mrs Walker behaved the other day?" Mrs. Munroe started a gossip about Sheriff's wife.

"I think she was quite funny." Liza remarked with a giggle. At this, all of the women looked at her with their judgemental expressions.

"Liza dear, didn't I ask you to be quiet when elderly people are having a conversation?" Her mama rebuked her again.

"Sorry." Liza mumbled quietly, as the women continued gossiping about their neighbors.

"So, remind me again why Dorcas isn't here?" Rachel Robson asked, wanting to change the subject. She was a newly married young woman who just returned from her honeymoon. Liza really liked her, she was humorous and outgoing.

"Dorcas is busy. She had to meet young and handsome Matthew Straither." Susan answered playfully.

"Matt is a fine boy, and he has a great future ahead of him." Mrs. Spencer added.

"I'm so happy for our Dorcas. Matt is a wonderful gentleman." Abigail remarked.

All of the women nodded in agreement, except for Liza. She knew her best friend quite well, and she was positive that Dorcas would never be happy with Matt. He was an ignorant, proud, and a boring man. Liza wanted to say something, but she decided to hold her peace. After all, nobody cared about her opinion at this point.

"It's nice to see that young ladies like you are pairing off with such fine men." Mrs. Johnson said quite excitingly.

"Margaret darling, what about your pretty daughter? Liza, weren't you spoken for George Thompson?" Mrs. Munroe asked as she petted the young brunette's back.

"Will see. Her father prefers Joe Miller to George. But I honestly think that Carl is far more better for my delicate daughter." Mrs. May replied as the other women nodded.

Liza smiled politely, but didn't say a word. It didn't matter to her, all of those suitors were the same arrogant and dull-headed man.

"Just yesterday our Abigail and Susan got engaged to Luke and Nathaniel" Mrs. Spencer exclaimed proudly.

Young girls nodded happily. "Oh, you won't believe how sweet Luke is." Abigail spoke up.

"I'm so glad. How wonderful! Soon we will have yet another wedding." Emily said and winked at Liza.

Emily herself got married not too long ago. Her childhood sweetheart Lem, finally purposed to her.

"How is Lem, by the way?" Susan asked as she put her dishes aside. The women continued chatting and gossiping about marriages, babies, town man, churches, and such.

Liza felt completely bored and irritated. She couldn't take it. Of course she loved these women, but their thoughts were so different. She didn't want to live like these ladies, she wanted something else. Liza wasn't sure what exactly she wished for,but she knew that she wanted to be free. Pretty brunette was brought back to present when Mrs. Munroe started talking about the one and only Milly.

"Poor woman! Such a fool. What kind of a woman marries such a filth?"

"Don't get me started on those Pontipee boys, they are disgusting. Simply horrifying!" Susan answered.

"Are they?" Liza asked eagerly. At last an interesting topic was brought up! She had heard many gossips about them Pontipees brothers. She herself had seen Adam Pontipee the eldest of seven brothers, he was tall and handsome, but very boastful and arrogant. She wasn't sure why Milly married him in the first place.

"Well, I will admit that all of them are quite handsome." Abigail added and Susan agreed.

"You met those savage boys?" Mrs. Spencer asked sounding displeased.

Susan nodded in disgust, and all of the women stared curiously, waiting for her to continue the story.

They couldn't deny that even though those Pontipee boys were strange and sometimes terrifying, almost all of the young girls were curious to find out more about them.

"Just before yesterday, Esther, Abigail and I were walking by the Bixby store." Susan started

"And then we saw them Pontipee boys. Red headed, tall, fiery, and oh so very handsome." Abigail cut in.

"What happened?" Liza asked eagerly.

"Well, one of them jumped from the wagon and smiled at us. He was very good-looking." Abigail continued.

"Poor oaf. He was clearly trying to impress us." Susan added with a laugh. "It was obvious that they had seen pretty ladies like us for the first time. So, what does the fool do?...He offered us a _Chaw of Tobacco_!"

As soon as Susan finished her sentence, all of the women gasped in shock, while Liza couldn't help but giggle. Susan was very proud and she thought she was the most beautiful girl in town. Liza was often irritated by her behavior.

"That is completely unacceptable!" Mrs. Munroe exclaimed in horror.

"Oafs indeed!" Mrs. Spencer nodded.

"I thought it was funny!" Liza said with a huge grin across her face. Susan glared at her looking annoyed.

"Liza!" Her mother scolded once again.

"Well, after that, those savages started a big fight and broke Mr. and Mrs. Bixby's window." Abigail added

All of the women shook their head in terror and glanced at each other with disapproving looks. This time, Liza also agreed with them. She couldn't help but think about Milly. Was poor Milly okay with those brash brothers? Though she knew that Milly was strong and could take care of herself.

"Alright girls, let's start the bee. Enough chatting." Mrs. Johnson said and all of them got up to get their materials and fabrics.

Liza also joined the other women, completely unaware that quite soon her life would change dramatically and she would experience love in the most strangest and adventurous way.

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 **Thanks for reading this one-shot story. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't forget to leave reviews.**

 **This was something I came up with not too long ago. I always enjoyed the chaw of tobacco scene and when Ben cuts in and starts fighting. It was hilarious! I intend to write more one-shots about Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. So don't be afraid to suggest me something. And tell me what scene you want me to do next.**


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